Antitrust

Say hello to the US government’s latest attempt to force antitrust regulations on the digital advertising industry. It might sound familiar.

The big one is here, as The Big Story examines the DOJ’s suit against Google for anticompetitive practices. Also: The IAB pulls no punches in its criticisms of Apple.

2023 is only a week in and antitrust scrutiny is already roiling the American big tech cadre. Important antitrust actions are looming, the line between antitrust regulation and privacy protection continues to blur – and large platforms with their own ad businesses are starting to feel the heat as regulators dig in.

The European Commission just left Meta a lump of coal in its stocking. On Monday, European regulators charged Meta with antitrust violations for “distorting competition in the markets for online classified ads,” including through unfair access to advertising data pulled from its competitors. Specifically, the commission issued what’s known as a “statement of objections,” which […]

Recent speeches by DOJ and FTC leaders share a common thread, each organization sees a need for more aggressive market intervention and action to deliver on its mission. Plus: Getting the industry to weigh in on the definition of “premium.”

Google is signaling it may spin off its ad tech business. A DSP and SSP change would create new winners and losers and potentially open up access to walled-off inventory, says our guest, Ari Paparo, founder of Marketecture. Plus: How Google Analytics’ coming change will affect publishers.

Google may open up YouTube to outside programmatic demand as a bargaining chip to EU regulators. And a looming recession won’t deflate digital advertising – although don’t expect pandemic-level growth.

Google tells its side of the story in a motion to dismiss the antitrust case it’s facing – but where does the truth lie? Also: Google unveils its cookie-free Topics API, a rundown on California’s follow-up privacy law (CPRA) and a quick explainer on the latest privacy bill to hit the Hill: the ominously named Banning Surveillance Advertising Act.

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Feed The Hand That Bites You Advertising insiders have become expert witnesses, so to speak, in antitrust battles with Big Tech.  There’s Tom Chavez, who co-founded and sold ad tech startups to Microsoft and Salesforce. He now operates a venture fund that invests in […]

More than a year after 17 states filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, the hits keep coming. A newly unredacted version of the suit – now ballooned to 242 pages – dropped on Friday and provides quite the scratch-off surprise. AdExchanger has been busy polling the industry and reading up on the latest allegations about how Google […]

The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday announced a joint effort to rewrite US antitrust law for handling mergers and acquisitions. Don’t hold your breath, though The two agencies are opening a 60-day public comment period for individuals, companies and organizations to submit concerns about M&A and antitrust regulation. That material will […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Neeva Have I Eeva Paid To Search  The search engine startup Neeva launched its $5 per-month tier on Wednesday, Fast Company reports.  It’s small news – Neeva has some hundreds of thousands of users – but it’s an important marker because at least someone’s […]

The ripple effects of Google’s decisions dominated AdExchanger’s top story list in 2021.

The business practices of both Facebook and Google came to light in unflattering ways over the past week. Last Friday, a judge unsealed the 173-page antitrust complaint against Google – and there was a lot of interesting info underneath those black squares. Many of the details allege that Google manipulated the auction to ensure market share […]

On Friday, a New York judge unsealed most of the Texas-led antitrust lawsuit against Google – and the devil is in the unredacted details. According to the judge, P. Kevin Castel, Google’s argument that the filing needed to be redacted for privacy reasons didn’t hold water. The multistate suit alleges anticompetitive ad tech policies and […]

If there’s one thing lawmakers from both sides of the aisle seem able to agree on, it’s the need to rein in Big Tech. Bipartisan support for taking Big Tech down a peg was evident during Jonathan Kanter’s nomination hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. (The same bipartisan vibe was also on display […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Creative Galaxy Snap is fending off competitors with new money-making tools for creators, Variety reports. Next month, Snapchat will launch Spotlight Challenges, cash bonuses ranging from $1,000 to $25,000 for accounts with top views in categories like “Best Trick Shot.” The tool is a […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Fine Whine Google began arguments in the appeal of its $5 billion antitrust fine from 2018, when European Commission regulator Margrethe Vestager successfully argued the company unfairly leveraged its market position to force its search app onto Android devices. Although, if Google loses the […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. The Party Line The Washington DC Attorney General’s office expanded its antitrust suit against Amazon. The complaint initially targeted Amazon’s third-party seller policies and now also encompasses first-party seller deals. The crux of the AG’s case against Amazon’s first-party seller policies is the “Minimum […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. The TV Prize Amazon plans to introduce its own line of smart TVs in the United States, perhaps as early as October, Business Insider reports. On the one hand, it’s surprising Amazon hasn’t released its own television, since it would be a natural extension […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. FTC You Next Time The FTC had its Facebook antitrust case dismissed, and recently refiled a new suit. The issue is if Facebook’s competition includes YouTube, Snap, Pinterest, TikTok, LinkedIn, Reddit, Twitter, Spotify, Hulu and Netflix, then it’s hardly a monopolized market. The FTC’s […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Second Verse, Same As The First? The Federal Trade Commission is trying again to present a convincing antitrust case vs. Facebook after a federal court dismissed its initial lawsuit for failing to prove the social giant runs a monopoly. The FTC on Thursday filed […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Return Of The Jedi? Google is accused of allegedly cutting a deal with Facebook (again) to “fix” ad rates in programmatic auctions, Ad Age reports. The claim is made in a new antitrust suit filed against the search giant by two Massachusetts companies. The […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Just Browsing The only browser operators with the resources and potential building blocks to compete with Google Chrome are Microsoft Edge (which is built on Chrome’s open-source code) and Apple’s Safari WebKit. So really that just leaves Safari. And Apple has given up on […]

Will Xandr find a home with InMobi? As InMobi prepares for an IPO, we talk about the Axios report that the company is in talks to acquire Xandr. AT&T has been shopping the company formerly known as AppNexus around for months – so when will a buyer materialize? Ad tech’s stratospheric public market valuations should […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Behind Bars The beta version of Safari available for iOS 15 users could seriously hamper online ad performance. Typically, iOS updates undercut online advertising when Apple makes it difficult (or impossible) to track users around the web or attribute campaign conversions. This Safari change […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. The States vs. Android Three dozen state attorneys general filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, targeting the company’s Play Store policies and dominance in app distribution. Google has made concessions to Android developers. Earlier this year, Google cut its commission on in-app sales from […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Apple Strikes Back Lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday debated a sweeping set of antitrust bills aimed at Big Tech companies. One bill will provide more government funding to enforce antitrust laws. A second one, advanced by the committee, will prevent how […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Shunned IAB Europe just elected its new board of directors and guess who didn’t make the cut? Google. For the first time in years, Google will not have a representative on IAB Europe’s board. [You can check out the newly elected crop here.] It’s […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Another IPO The ad tech IPOs keep rolling out. This time it’s Integral Ad Science Holding. The New York-based ad verification and measurement company announced the terms of its IPO on Monday, saying that it plans to raise $240 million by offering 15 million […]